De luce, de lux et de lumen
De luce, de lux et de lumen
The term ’reflection’ has a double meaning: it signifies the phenomenon of the light returning to the environment wherein it came from upon meeting a separating surface, but it also signifies the return of consciousness upon itself. This dual semantics has consequences on the wider concept of Weltanschauung, through the double nature of light, namely its physical and metaphysical nature. The eye metaphor employed by German theologian Eckhart von Hochheim and bishop Robert Grosseteste from Lincoln during the 13th and 14th century is not in the least bit random. It refers to the material and spiritual perception of light which involves operating with a series of Latin concepts such as indistinctum, lux, lumen, oculus corporis, oculus mentis, and others. These are notions affected by an apparent desuetude, but which allow a surprising disambiguation through the iconic representation of the eye principle.
Keywords: Weltanschauung, luce, lux, lumen, oculus corporis, oculus mentis, physical light, metaphysical light.
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